AL OSAIS International Holding Company has embarked on a well-devised plan to diversify its areas of operations by joining hands with reputed global companies that are open to transferring technology.

Recent efforts on this initiative have seen the company develop new business lines in the power sector, in logistics and custom clearance as well as in electromechanical works, according to Abdul Rahman Moraisel, the vice-president of the leading and well-diversified Saudi-based group.

“We have set up a joint venture company with an international company with more than 40 years of experience in this field and this has enabled us to undertake the construction of high-voltage substations and OHTL (overhead transmission lines) lines up to 380 kV. We have already executed more than 15 projects in this sector,” he says.

Its new venture into logistics and custom clearance has also helped it secure several contracts. In the electromechanical sector, Al Osais has formed a new joint venture with a foreign company to undertake heavy electromechanical construction, such as piping and process control, in the oil and gas, power and petrochemical industries.

Its strategy for diversification and expansion doesn’t end here and will soon encompass other areas as well. “Our plans for the coming year include investment and setting up of joint ventures with reputable international companies to manufacture special electrical or mechanical products in Saudi Arabia,” Moraisel says, without revealing details. “We are also looking at investing and establishing joint ventures in the marine works sector, to enable us to pursue projects that involve construction of ports and platforms; and developing our telecom division through a partnership with an international company with experience in undertaking engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects.

“We also intend to invest further in the logistics sector to improve our business in this line and develop our capability to manufacture OHTL towers by utilising our existing machineries and equipment being used in the manufacture of structural steel.”

Over the past year, although affected by the global economic crisis, Al Osais has seen business grow, thanks to its good relations and the esteem it commands among banks and suppliers, which has help it maintain its market share, he says.

Al Osais, which this year marks four decades of service to the region, is currently active in a number of spheres in the construction and industrial sector, including building residential units; earthworks and infrastructure; road construction; industrial support services; industrial maintenance and turnaround services; and manufacture of steel structures.

The company is busy in nearly all these areas with numerous projects under way including the Manifa development, Tanajib facilities and Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (Satorp) export refinery in Jubail.

According to Al Osais’ business development manager Jamal Abu Ajinah, more than half of the work has been completed at the Manifa industrial support facilities under a contract worth SR392 million ($104.55 million) for Saudi Aramco. The company’s scope of works on the project comprises construction of 77 buildings, involving a total built-up area of 29,000 sq m. The work includes provision of equipment, site preparation works, parking, sidewalks and utilities such as water, sewage, surface storm run-off, electricity, telecommunications, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) and fire protection.

In addition, at the Manifa central processing project under a subcontract from JGC JV, Al Osais is constructing 17 buildings with a total built-up area of 11,000 sq m. The SR124-million ($33 million) project is now in the finishing stages.

The Tanajib facilities expansion project, worth SR233 million ($62 million) for Saudi Aramco, entails the construction of 26 buildings with a total area of 27,000 sq m. The project, which is 73 per cent complete, includes provision of equipment, site preparation, parking, sidewalks and utilities such as water, sewage, surface storm run-off, electricity, telecommunications, HVAC and fire protection.

Meanwhile under Package Seven of Satorp’s refinery project, worth an estimated SR450 million ($120 million), Al Osais is engaged in the construction of 12 buildings involving a total area of 39,396 sq m. The company is halfway through its construction timeline on the project which also includes equipment, site preparation works, parking, sidewalks and utilities.

Apart from the oil and gas sector, Al Osais is involved in civil works for a range of major housing projects. Among these is a faculty housing project at Damman University worth SR300 million ($80 million), which was recently launched. It comprises the construction of 146 villas with a total area of 76,000 sq m as well as external work, construction of a boundary wall, and utilities.

In addition, for the Phase Seven of a housing project for the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Al Osais has started construction of 396 villas with a total area of 156,000 sq m. The SR574-million ($153 million) project also calls for the provision of equipment, site preparation works, parking, sidewalks and utilities.

Apart from these projects, Al Osais is undertaking a number of  EPC contracts for Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) including the BSP (bulk supply point) substations in Jeddah and Riyadh (90 and 60 per cent complete, respectively); a 132/13.8-kV substation in Riyadh (85 per cent complete); a 132/13.8-kV substation with OHTL in Arrar (10 per cent complete); and two 115/13.8-kV substations in Al Shate, Eastern Province (55 per cent complete). It has completed a 23-km-long OHTL of 132-kV in Qurayyat and 132/13.8-kV substations in Qassim and in Riyadh recently for SEC, which has now invited bids for the construction of several 132-kV substations in the Eastern, Central and Western regions.

Al Osais also has completed EPC contracts to set up 115/13.8-kV substations and 115-kV OHTL for Saudi Aramco and is currently working on 115/13.8-kV substations at Hafer University and 69/13.8-kV Zuhoor substation in the Eastern Province.

In the telecom sector, the company has executed several projects with many others under way, and it is now in negotiations with clients including STC, Mobily, Bravo-PTC, ZTE, Nokia, Ericsson, SCC, SEC, Alcatel, Motorola and Komee for upcoming contracts.

Al Osais counts the Jubail Industrial College, the Marafiq Home Ownership scheme, and a housing complex for Advanced Petrochemical Company, all in Jubail, among its most striking projects.

“The SR600-million ($160 million) Jubail Industrial College for the Royal Commission entailed the construction of an auditorium and training centre with a total area of 57,720 sq m, a 4,237-sq-m mosque, seven commercial units over an area of 12,588 sq m, a guard house and two reinforced concrete irrigation and fire/sprinklers tanks,” he says.

For the SR570-million ($152 million) Marafiq Home Ownership project for Marafiq Company, Al Osais built 250 villas of seven types, involving a total built-up area of 114,793 sq m and a 1,335-sq-m mosque.

The project for Advanced Petrochemical Company was worth SR280 million ($74.67 million) and called for the construction of 111 villas.

Established in 1972, Al Osais employs around 11,000 people in various departments and has offices in the Eastern, Central and Western regions of Saudi Arabia. The company has also set up offices in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, UAE, a year ago to enable it to broaden its horizons in the GCC market.